


Stranded

by FlightOfInsanity



Series: Destiny 2 [4]
Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: Destiny 2, my string of mini fics all coming out in the wrong order continues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-03 12:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12748203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlightOfInsanity/pseuds/FlightOfInsanity
Summary: Shot out of the sky, with no contact with the rest of the Guardians, Jaksis and Rigel have to deal with the loss of the Light.





	1. Chapter 1

“ _Jak!_ ”

Rigel, for what might have been the first time in his life, was terrified. One moment, Jaksis had been fine. The hunter had gone invisible, gone out to make sure the coast was clear before the pair fully left the wreckage of the jumpship. Rigel had taken that time to make sure his gear had stayed in his pack. He couldn’t see where Jak went anyway, so he thought he might as well make sure he was ready to go.

One moment, everything had been fine. The next, Jaksis had cried out in agony, a sound Rigel had never heard from him. He’d looked up just in time to the hunter crumple to the ground. He didn’t react when Rigel screamed his name.

“Oh no. No, no, no.”

He knew that Guardians could, and did, die all the time. They even made a sport of it. Killing each other again and again. He knew Guardians could die and come back and be fine, but Jak had never died. There hadn’t been a sound – no weapons fire, no missiles, no battle cries. Just Jaksis.

It took Rigel a few seconds to reach his friend and as he ran he kept waiting for Sarys to appear, for Sarys to fix everything, but the little Ghost stayed hidden. Dirt flew everywhere as he dropped to his knees and slid to a stop.

“Jak? _Jak_.”

A strange sort of relief washed over him as Jaksis flinched. He wasn’t dead. His lower arms wrapped around his midriff, upper hands clutched the side of his head, and he keened quietly in response to the gentle hand Rigel placed on his shoulder.

“Jak? Hey, hey, talk to me.”

“ _Gone._ It hurts.”

His voice was so quiet, so strained, Rigel almost missed it. He thought he may have missed something anyway – it didn’t make any sense.

“What? What’s gone?” No response. “Jak?... Sarys? Sarys, what’s wrong?”

No Ghost appeared and Rigel felt his little bit of relief vanish as quickly as it had arrived. “Sarys, come on, where are you?”

“ _Gone!_ She’s gone. It’s all gone.”

Jaksis shook under Rigel’s hands and he sounded so small and broken. He was quietly muttering now, the same things over and over. Rigel didn’t understand any of it. How could a Ghost just be gone? What had happened? Was it related to them getting shot out of the sky? Surely a ship crash couldn’t do this, but…

A distant rumble reached his audio sensors and an antenna twitched as he looked around. It was definitely a ship, but not one he’d heard before and it was… definitely getting closer. There was a _chance_ it was a Guardian vessel, but with the way the rest of the day had been going, he wasn’t going to count on it.

“Come on, buddy, we gotta move.”

“ _It’s all gone… Why would it take it away?_ ”

There was so much pain in the quiet whisper, so much confusion. Rigel wished he had an answer for the questions Jaksis was asking, but he didn’t even have context. He didn’t know what to do to help, if he _could_ do anything to help, and it hurt him more than he ever thought it could.

The rumble of the approaching ship grew ever louder and he knew Jaksis wouldn’t be moving on his own before it reached them. As carefully as he could, Rigel scooped him up and made for the trees. There was no resistance from the hunter – no indignant grumbling, no trying to stand on his own, no flat sarcasm, nothing.

It was a ways to the trees and their relative safety, but to Rigel’s surprise and relief, the heavy green branches had been hiding craggy rocks and a small, eroded bluff. It wasn’t perfect, but it would be enough for the time being. They would be mostly hidden here and if by some happy miracle a Guardian ship did come to investigate their crash site, they would be close enough for rescue.

“This’ll work. This’ll be good enough.” Rigel wasn’t sure if he was talking to Jaksis or to himself.

Four eyes blinked at him in confusion and then looked past him to the rocks, as though Jaksis was just noticing that they’d moved.

“Jak?” He was worried. So worried. Jaksis focused on him, though, and Rigel’s throat lights flashed briefly in delight. “Hey. There you go. Can you tell me what happened? What’s gone? What hurt you?”

A moment passed, and words started spilling from Jaksis.

“Sarys… My _Light_. I don’t— She _screamed_ and then she was gone and the Light was gone and I can’t… I _can’t hear her now_. I don’t know if she’s still here.”

Rigel had been working in and out of the Tower for ages and he’d never heard of a Guardian’s Ghost and Light just… disappearing. He didn’t know what to think, didn’t know what to say. Jak’s gaze flickered down and away, his voice becoming less than a whisper.

“What if the Traveler took it all back?”

“No.” Rigel’s voice held no uncertainty and Jaksis looked back up at him.

“No,” he repeated. “The Traveler doesn’t take Light back and it wouldn’t ever take yours.”

“Rigel—”

Rigel gently cupped Jak’s face in his hands and shushed him. “No. _Listen_. I have seen some of the monsters Guardians can be and if the Traveler didn’t take _their_ Light back, it wouldn’t take _yours_. I don’t know what happened, but someone out there does. We’re going to get back to the City, we’re going to get Sarys back, and we’re going to fix your Light.”

He had no idea if any of that was true – he didn’t even know where to start – but he knew Jaksis needed him to believe it.

Another slow blink, a slight change of expression, and Jaksis pulled his head away. Rigel dropped his hands and watched the eliksni curl up again, tucking into his small cloak as best he could.

“ _Everything hurts._ ”

“I know.” He didn’t. “Sleep if it’ll help. I’ll keep watch.”


	2. Chapter 2

“… Sarys?”

A barely there touch brushed his mind in answer and Jaksis hummed quietly in delight. He didn’t know how long it had been since his Light had been taken, how long it had been since he had lost Sarys, and he could barely believe she was there.

It was possible he was dreaming. Perhaps his unconscious mind was creating the illusion of his Ghost. He was cold, though, and a rock was digging painfully into his hip, so he thought he might be awake.

“Are you real?”

_Of course I am._

Jaksis thought he might die of relief. “I thought…”

_I know. I’m sorry._

“Do you know what happened? Where is the Light? Did we… did we do something wrong?”

A wave of love and comfort washed over his mind. _Hush, hush. Of course we didn’t. Something’s blocked us from the Light but it’s nothing either of us have done. We’ll get back to the City and someone will help us fix this._

“Maybe the Speaker will know what to do?” The Speaker always seemed to have answers, even if Jaksis didn’t have the questions.

Reassurance came from Sarys. _How are you feeling?_

“Tired.”

The rock dug into his hip again and he pulled himself upright. A blanket he hadn’t noticed before was piled next to him. Had it been on him at one point? He pulled it up over his shoulders like a cloak and scooting across the small space to a much more comfortable patch of ground. There was a small pile of other blankets on the ground and he grabbed a couple of them to make a seat. It was much warmer than the bare ground had been.

The little cave was dark and he wasn’t sure which direction led to the mouth. How did he get here? The ship crashed, the Light disappeared, and then… what? He thought of the blankets and looked around again.

“Where’s Rigel?”

_He went scouting. Should be back in a few hours._

Jaksis blinked in confusion. “How did you--?”

_He told us when he left. You were caught somewhere between sleeping and waking._

“Told _us_? Have you talked to him?”

_No, but he tries to talk to me sometimes._

“He brought these?”

_Yes. He’s been looking for supplies and keeping watch, though he may just be trying to stay busy. He’s worried._

Jaksis wasn’t sure he’d seen Rigel worried ever. Maybe that first day they’d met, when he’d been fighting those dregs. He pushed his blanket seat into more of a nest and curled onto it, burying himself under his blanket cloak. He didn’t like the idea that he’d caused Rigel so much worry. That he’d needed this much looking after.

Sarys hummed quietly in his mind. _Don’t stress yourself, he’ll just be happy when you’re feeling better._

“Hm.” Even if that were the case, he didn’t like it. He sighed and shifted around until he was comfortable.

_I’ll wake you when Rigel gets back_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended for this to make Jak happy (happier?) after thinking the Traveler took his Light away but I messed up and made it sad again by making him think the Speaker could fix everything


End file.
